In the UK, many critical sectors and industries such as energy, finance, communications and transport depend on the reliability and accuracy of the signals from global positioning (GPS) satellites. However, GPS signals are easily disrupted by interference or deliberate malicious actions like signal jamming, causing an estimated economic loss of a billion pounds a day to the UK economy.

The UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation & Timing (QEPNT), led by the University of Glasgow, will address these challenges by creating high performance, low size and low-cost quantum technologies.

University of Bristol academics, Dr Carrie Weidner, Lecturer in Quantum Engineering, and Dr Alex Clark, Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of the Quantum Engineering Technology Laboratories, will take on work package leadership roles in the QEPNT Hub.

Tom Newby, Head of the UK Office for Quantum Technologies in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, officially launched the Hub at the event on 27 November.

He said: “The new Quantum Hubs in the UK will see cutting edge research improve everyday lives.  In particular, the QEPNT Hub hopes to support critical infrastructure safe from hostile threats. I’m delighted QEPNT is progressing the UK’s commitment and mission to develop quantum navigation systems to provide next-generation accuracy for resilience, independent of satellite systems.”

QEPNT is one of five quantum hubs launched by UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with a £106 million investment from EPSRC, the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Hub, funded as part of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, will be led by world-leading researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Imperial College London, Loughborough, Strathclyde, Queen’s University Belfast and the National Physical Laboratory.

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director of Cross-Council Programmes at EPSRC and Chair of the National Quantum Technologies Programme, said: “Current quantum technology research has unlocked new capabilities in several markets and is an area of strategic importance to the UK. Improving the resilience of our position, navigation and time-dependent services, particularly for critical infrastructure and security, is vitally important.”

Researchers at the Hub will develop atomic clocks and LiDAR sensors, which use light to measure range, and create smaller, lighter quantum-enabled devices for applications in sectors including roads, railways and underground transport, where they could help improve navigation systems by replacing current GPS positioning technologies.

New technology developed at the Hub could also enable improve indoor navigation on mobile devices, and upgrade the positioning systems in submarines, allowing them to operate for months without surfacing to reconnect with satellites.

The event brought together representatives from leading quantum and technology companies, academia, the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP), and government, including officials from the Office for Quantum.

Dr Alex Clark said: "Here in the Quantum Engineering Technology Laboratories at the University of Bristol we will be developing ultracold atomic inertial sensors, integrated photonic laser-locking systems, and single-photon-level range finding systems. We are hugely excited to join the dynamic team of QEPNT Hub researchers in this multi-faceted project that promises to have huge impact at the interface between the UK PNT and Quantum Technology communities."

Dr Carrie Weidner added: “The QEPNT hub is comprised of researchers all operating at the cutting-edge of quantum technologies, and everyone involved has the same goal: to advance positioning, navigation, and timing technologies, moving systems out of the laboratory and into the real world. Researchers at the University of Bristol are deeply coupled into the Hub activities, and we’re looking forward to helping drive scientific and technological advancement in the UK through this network.”

Professor David Cumming, Hub Director, said, “QEPNT is an important addition to the National Quantum Technology Programme.  Working with our academic and industrial partners, we look forward to delivering new and exciting technologies to meet national needs.”

Professor Doug Paul, Principal Investigator of QEPNT, said, “We’re delighted to launch the Hub which will support the development of new and improved forms of atomic clocks, quantum gyroscopes and quantum accelerometers. QEPNT will also facilitate industry and academic collaborations and provide skills and training to nurture the pipeline of the quantum leaders of tomorrow.”